“All art forms converge in the movies; that's
why I enjoy writing and talking about them so
much," says Betty Jo Tucker. Because of a
passion for film, Betty Jo and her husband Larry
see almost 200 movies a year. A retired college
dean, Betty Jo serves as lead critic for
ReelTalk Movie Reviews (www.reeltalkreviews.com
) and for News First Online (an NBC-affiliate
Website). She also writes film commentary for
the COLORADO SENIOR BEACON, and many of her
reviews appear on The Romance Club site (www.theromanceclub.com)
and on the Real Movie News site in the
United Kingdom. Her latest adventures involve
hosting the ReelTalk Movie Reviews Radio Show
(www.ReelTalkRadio.com)
for the iWRN Radio Network and teaching
an online course titled “The Reel Deal: Writing
about Movies” for the Long Story Short School
of Writing.
Phil Hall, book editor for the NEW YORK
RESIDENT, calls Betty Jo one of today’s finest
film critics and “a graceful, intelligent judge
of cinematic offerings.” According to Hall,
“Tucker is wonderful as an observer and cogent
as an interviewer.”
During her ten years as an entertainment
journalist, Betty Jo has interviewed such stars
and filmmakers as Susan Sarandon, Ian McKellen,
Brendan Fraser, Angelina Jolie, Guy Pearce,
Aidan Quinn, Barry Bostwick, Phillip Noyce, Tony
Shalhoub, Fred Willard, Aaron Eckhart, Willem
Dafoe, M. Night Shyamalan, Oliver Parker,
Douglas McGrath, Hector Elizondo, and Annette
Bening.
While serving as Dean of Humanities at San Diego
Mesa College, Betty Jo supervised expansion of
film studies classes, designed an “Exploring
Human Values through Film” course and
coordinated a “Reel to Real Public Film Forum”
program.
Betty Jo helped found the San Diego Film Critics
Society and is a member of the Online Film
Critics Society. Her amusing life-at-the-movies
memoir, CONFESSIONS OF A MOVIE
ADDICT, received rave
reviews from fans and critics alike. Her latest
book, SUSAN SARANDON: A TRUE
MAVERICK, is a fascinating look at
the extraordinary film career of an actress
who’s become an American icon with influence
throughout the world.
Betty Jo and Larry (a.k.a. Harry and Elizabeth
Lawrence, co-authors of IT HAD TO BE
US, a romantic memoir published by
TRC which won First Place in the E-Book category
at the 2006 Hollywood Book Festival) enjoy
spending time with their son and daughter and
seven grandchildren – who also love movies. The
Tuckers live, where else, just five minutes away
from Tinseltown, the only multiplex theater in
Pueblo, Colorado.
